Press photos - to sign or not to sign

[MacDice]

Do whatever makes you happy. Collect things that have value to you not what you think will have value in the future if you sell it. To me the hobby is about personal enjoyment not how much of a profit you can get from it down the line.

[timzcardz]

I have had a couple signed and I thnk it adds to the signing experience as the signer enjoys seeing something different.


This is a 1958 WS wirephoto that I picked up about two years ago, that I got autographed by Yogi in November.








Next, Berra on the golf course in Hawaii after the 1955 season. I picked this up at The National this year and I've shown this pic here before, but in November added Yogi's autograph. At 85 years old, Yogi is still a pretty sharp and funny guy. When he saw this picture his eyes lit up and he asked me if I knew who the guys in the picture were. I started right to left with McDougald, Webb, and that I thought the next one looked a lot like him . . . then the gentlemen with him seated to his left chimed in with the last one being Dickey. Yogi pauses and turns to him with this patiently impatient glare, and then says to him "I KNOW you know who they are. I was asking him if he knew they were." With the look on his face, it was pretty funny.

[thekingofclout]

Originally Posted by Scott Garner

R.J.-
That's a great question! I've pondered that questions like these myself at times and I can tell you that there is no right or wrong answer.
Your photo that you posted is an awesome image and I don't know if I would have that one signed. I love autographs, but my own bias is that I don't love having a vintage item signed with a modern signature. I would consider framing it with a vintage signed album page/cut/index card/GPC of the two players, FWIW. I'm interested to hear how other board members weigh in on this topic.

Good collecting!

Originally Posted by Writehooks

I pondered this question when I first started taking vintage wire photos to the Boxing Hall of Fame induction weekend several years ago. My solution was to make glossy copies of vintage photos and have the fighters sign the copies. That way, you still get a signature on a cool picture ... and you also keep the original in "unspoiled" condition. An added bonus was that when the old fighters were asked to sign, they inevitably had a neat story to tell about what was depicted in the photo. Roberto Duran even asked for a half-dozen copies of an shot of him pummeling Kenny Buchanan ...

Being a photograph collector, I almost always value the content of the photo over the signature on it. So I completely concur with both of these suggestions.

Originally Posted by MacDice

Do whatever makes you happy. Collect things that have value to you not what you think will have value in the future if you sell it. To me the hobby is about personal enjoyment not how much of a profit you can get from it down the line.

But Mike's comment is absolutely spot-on. Stick to his words and you can't go wrong!